At a hearing in Westmoreland County Court yesterday, a defiant Ray Shetler Jr. insisted that his trial for assaulting police officers during an arrest last December be held as scheduled on June 20th, and his lawyer told Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio that Shetler may seek early release and contend his right to a speedy trial has been violated if the trial is postponed. Because of another trial on the court schedule on June 20th, Shetler’s case might be pushed back to August.
The 37-year-old Shetler is charged with two counts of aggravated assault and single counts of disarming a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest, stemming from a December brawl with four sheriff’s deputies and 11 Pennsylvania State Troopers after he was found hiding at his girlfriend’s mobile home outside of Seward. Police had been searching for him after he skipped a probation hearing related to his criminal case from 2015, when he shot to death St. Clair Township police officer Lloyd Reed Jr. Shetler was acquitted of murder charges in that case but convicted on charges related to his escape attempt.
Shetler suffered eye and facial injuries when he was tasered in the face during the fight. A sheriff’s deputy was also seriously injured in the altercation was injured during the fight with police, suffering eye and facial injuries.
In court yesterday, Assistant District Attorney Leo Ciaramitaro told the judge he anticipates at least fourteen law enforcement authorities to testify and he expects the trial to last a week.
Shetler’s girlfriend, Keeley Shay Morgan, is scheduled for Plea Court on July 6th for a charge of hindering apprehension. The mobile home’s owner, Kenneth Krouse, has a pretrial conference for the same offense scheduled for July 14th.
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